Pioneering future treatment of cancer

Our goal is treatment of cancer without surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy – to bypass everything we have done for the last 100 years. - Dr Swee Tan

A paradigm shift

“Tan et al, from….Wellington, New Zealand, report a novel and fascinating paradigm shift in the utilisation of ACE to treat infantile haemangiomas….. Drug manufacturers and cancer research must take note of this new major paradigm shift.” - Professor Macaulay AC Onuigbo, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA

Imagine if we did this to cancer

Take our ‘virtual tour’ of the GMRI’s laboratory facilities

We are very fortunate to have many supporters throughout New Zealand and around the world. But not everyone gets the chance to see behind the scenes in our world-class lab facilities in Newtown, Wellington.

Our Focus

The GMRI’s work will continue to benefit patients in New Zealand and gain further international significance.
The GMRI’s current areas of research include cancer, fibrotic conditions, vascular birthmarks and regenerative medicine, based on the role of stem cells in disease and health.

Follow us

Innovation

The GMRI is pioneering an innovative field of cellular and molecular research that may radically change the traditional understanding of disfiguring and life-threatening conditions. This could lead to greatly improved treatment,
and possibly the cure, of cancer.

Support us

Thank you to our many supporters

We’re excited about what we’ve accomplished this year as we focus on our goal to treat cancer without surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. We couldn’t have achieved as much without the support of so many. Read more

$300,000 from Hugo keeps our research rolling

We rely on the dedication and kindness of donors to keep our work going. So we were thrilled to recently receive a very large and generous donation of $300,000 from the Hugo Charitable Trust.
Read more

New cancer treatment for glioblastoma — a devastating brain cancer

A new cancer treatment developed by the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute is being trialled for glioblastoma, a devastating brain cancer, which could revolutionise how the cancer is treated. Read more

In the Hutt Hospital outpatients clinic, Dr David Young and Frances FitzJohn are the face of the GMRI team treating patients with devastating brain cancer, glioblastoma. Read more

Collecting for the tissue bank — the work of two research nurses

Our labs at the GMRI rely on human tissue samples for our research projects. These samples are stored in the GMRI tissue bank, which forms a valuable and unique resource for our work. Read more

The Strawberry Birthmark Story

In a world first achievement, the team led by Dr Tan and their collaborators succeeded in transforming strawberry birthmark stem cells into fat cells, bone cells and red blood cells. Read more

The Paradigm Shift

The GMRI's ground-breaking research relating to strawberry birthmark has potentially enormous implications for the treatment of other tumours, including cancer.
Read more

Sabrina Koh and Elysia Tan present their research

We’re proud to share the experiences of our students and trainees who have recently presented at international conferences. Read more

Be part of our journey

Take our ‘virtual tour’ of the GMRI’s laboratory facilities

We are very fortunate to have many supporters throughout New Zealand and around the world. But not everyone gets the chance to see behind the scenes in our world-class lab facilities in Newtown, Wellington. This video has been made so you can view these, meet some members of our team and learn more about what we do.